


Warrior Short Story

by Space_Spader



Category: Warriors - Erin Hunter
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-28
Updated: 2018-04-29
Packaged: 2019-04-29 02:52:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14463429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Space_Spader/pseuds/Space_Spader
Summary: A collection of short stories that I've written from prompts or ideas that come in my head and won't leave. They're mostly AUs.





	1. Twister, Grace, and Sky

**Author's Note:**

> This is a short piece about three characters that may exist more. They're all rouges in a rouge group just, hunting. Yeah. Hope yall enjoy

Sky couldn't remember her past, and she knew she never wanted to go back to it. It could've been an easy life, caring parents and littermates, a warm nest and a full belly. Or, it could of been hard. Fighting for each day, abandoned or abused, and not knowing what it felt to not be hungry.

Either way, she didn't want to return, not when she had everything she ever wanted right by her side, in paws reach.

"Come on, Sky!" Shouted a stormy gray tabby, yanking the calico out of her thoughts. "Birds on the northbound and you're the only one who can catch them in the sky!"

With a quick nod, Sky couldn't help but break out in a smile as she raced to the other cat. Twister, one of her best friends in the whole world, one third of a certain trio that couldn't be stopped. Much like her name, Twister could pull up anything and destroy it without trying. Sky was always glad she never was on the she-cat's bad side, something that many cats haven't survived from.

Laying low next to the tabby, each cat scanned the horizon before locating their target. A small flock of birds that had landed in a clearing. They would have to move fast and each element of the plan raced through each of the she-cats' mind.

Sky could feel Twisters' excitement course through her pelt, and a small twitch of her paw gave her everything she needed to know. Because of the group they joined, they had signs to speak without speaking. The sign was loud and clear, sneak attack.

Sky broke away from her friend, tail tip brushing against each others briefly. Each pawstep was calculated to a point, one wrong move and the whole trio would be punished for it.

The grass was wet under her paws from the morning dew, this would make landing harder but she would make it work, she always did. A few bushes were loosely scattered near the meadow, the perfect place to wait and jump. Clinging to the ground, the grass tickling her white underbelly as Sky slowly moved into the bush. As her striped pelt disappeared into the leafy cover, her tail twitched, a barely visible movement, but clear to the other two.

Alright, I'm ready.

Sky made sure her ears weren't sticking out of the bush as she shifted slightly, trying not to make much movement. Eyes glancing across the tree line, searching for her fellow hunters. Twister's grey form was slithering between rocks, trees, and any other cover the tabby could hide behind. A few birds had flew away but six stayed, still searching the ground, pecking it clean of worms and bugs. A pair of feathered, brown and white ears poked out from behind a tree. Yellow eyes glittered in the light and a nervous grin appeared before they all disappeared. Grace, the last part of their trio. A feisty, long haired, himalayan she-cat and self proclaimed leader of the trio. Neither of the other two minded the fluffy cat taking over, Grace had a sister in the group, Fairly, and Song was basically a new mother to her. With the fluffy she-cat in charge, they could move up in the ranks faster and get respect from their older group mates.

Grace moved closer, across from Twister, barely seeable to the birds. Twister was upwind, which could be very bad, but they needed her to be upfront. Twister had the unusual ability to tell when a piece of prey was most vulnerable, with her in front everyone could hit at the perfect time.

Which is now, thought Sky as both Twister and Grace bolted forward. Counting to three, Sky waited as the other two pinned and killed as many as they could. The robins squawked and started to fly away as Sky bolted out of her hiding spot, teeth bared and claws out. The birds took to the air, wings flapping to get to the safety of the trees.

Bunching up her legs, Sky leaped into the air. With practiced movements, she aimed at the flight feathers and wings of the birds. The next moments were a mix of adrenaline clouding her brain with instinct controlling her paws. Feathers clouded her eyes and fear scents her nose as she wrapped her jaws around a bird's neck. With a crack and a final slash of her paw, Sky fell to the ground. Landing carefully on the wet ground, the calico took in the scene around. Puffing out her white chest at seeing all the birds on the ground. Grace jumped happily into the air, grinning like a mouse-brain.

"Wow! Look at us!" Grace purred motioning with her tail behind her. Twister smiled and bumped playfully into Grace. Sky purred and trotted over to them.

"They'll have to be impressed!" She added, taking a robin into her mouth. It tasted great, like all prey she ate these days. Prey she hunted with cat as close as kin, prey she caught and worked for. Not daring to take a bite, the three took two birds into their mouths and walked side by side, pelts brushing and tails high in the air.

What a sight they were. Each walking different, each holding the birds different, each different. The calico, holding the robins by their tail feathers, walking in jumps, skips, and random sports. The himalayan, holding her birds by the wings, taking long strides and walking half a step in front of the others. The tabby, holding the birds neatly by their necks and walking in easy, perfect steps.

Different past. Different breeds. Different skills.

The very best of friends.

In moments like this, Sky threw everything to the wind. The past, the future, only the present stay rooted in her mind. This is where she belonged, and this is where she would stay.


	2. Just One Choice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not all choices are good ones and one must learn to pick the best of evils

"Sandhawk." Hawkdive's voice awoke the pale yellow tom from his peaceful sleep. The cool shade of the warriors den gave Sandhawk a good idea on what the weather was outside, most likely the worst heat green-leaf could give. Sandhawk flickered open his green eyes, scanning the den to see only himself and the other members of the dawn patrol occupying it. His gaze turned to the strong figure of a she-cat, her brown pelt a darker shade in the shadows. Her yellow stare held true as it was focused on Sandhawk. "We're on hunting patrol and I wish to speak with you."

Sandhawk gave a flick of his tail to let her know he understood and began to relish the last moments of the slight chill in den. As he got up to groom his fur he felt his mind wander about to a time when Hawkdive saying that she needed to talk to him scared the fur off of him. His jumpy apprentice days had been worked out of him due to the hard training of Hawkdive. Sandhawk deeply stretch one last time before exiting the den, making sure to not awake the others inside.

Just as he expected, a wave of hot wind rustled his whiskers. In a matter of seconds, his fur felt too overheated for comfortability. He twitched his ear irritable but despite his first thoughts of the unnatural heat, Sandhawk was grateful for the distraction it created which made it fox-lengths easier to walk past Petalfall without so much of an ear flick. Petalfall was Sandhawk's biological mother who raised him until he took his first taste of fresh kill. After the first taste of mouse touched his tongue, she was out of the nursery faster than a rabbit in a fox's den. The action had left Sandhawk feeling neglected and as if he was always standing on a fine line with the simplest action meaning his exile from Thunderclan.

Instead of paying a single ounce of attention to her, Sandhawk nodded at a few of the other warriors sharing tongues in the shade. Hawkdive was waiting for him underneath the Great Rock, speaking idly with Greyleaf. The yellow tom quicken his pace as he knew as well as anyone how his ex-mentor felt about the light grey warrior. Just passing into the atmosphere around the two made the air feel tense and paper thin, resembling their relationship quite well. The second Hawkdive caught sight Sandhawk's fimaulr pelt, she swiftly dropped the conversation in favor of walking over to him.

"Good, you decided to get up." She teased. It was the kind of tease that only a mentor and an apprentice could have together. The light-hearted way she griped on him still gave Sandhawk the feeling of belonging that he missed out on during his kithood. A soft smile went across his muzzle at it, readying a comeback.

"You have taught me much Hawkdive but waking up early was not one of them." He repiled slyly. "If I remember correctly, all your training sessions began after sun-high."

Hawkdive's laugh didn't leave her brown and white stained muzzle but the sound of it was able to leave her lips. Greyleaf laughed as well before Hawkdive dismissed both of the toms with a flick of her tail and began to walk off to the camp exit. She sure is ready to hunt. Thought Sandhawk stupidly. In the back of his mind he knew what she wanted to do, find some way to prove that the new era of peace and understanding among the clans was the wrong way of thinking. It wasn't the fact that Hawkdive had the instinct full urge to run into battle but instead a heavy disliked letting other clans hunt on their territory during weaker times and the like. Although Sandhawk could agree that letting Riverclan use a patch of land to hunt on after their river flooded was a good idea, he could also feel that Snowstar was showing off how great Thunderclan was. The constant idea of full-bellies and unlimited kindness that Snowstar preached made the other clans become a little too comfortable with Thunderclan, the other leaders commonly asking for hunting rights. A few other warriors disagreed with it but none to the extent of Hawkdive who tripled-checked every border marker and supervised the other clan cats a little to closely when they came to hunt, making sure they only took their too generous share. Sandhawk had been brought along on these "warriors duties" as she liked to call them and began to notice the same things she was constantly meowing about.

The thoughts of clan politics was soon put on the side when Greyleaf began to create small talk as they entered the cooler shade of the trees. The heat of the wind rustled the leaves above, the only sound in a close to dead forest. Hardly any birds sang after sun-rise ended and prey didn't rustle the undergrowth like it used to when the temperature had been less extreme. And of course it doesn't help with the rest of the clans taking prey as well. Thought Sandhawk sourly as a used to be hot spot for mice fell empty.

"I have to say, it's a joy to see you two still as close as when Sandhawk was an apprentice." Greyleaf commented after his topic of last night's gathering ended in an upset Hawkdive who was on the verge of yowling her option. "I wish Emberstep and I were still close, he was such good company." Sandhawk grinned at both his relationship with Hawkdive and the mention of Emberstep. Nothing but pide could fill him at how Hawkdive had stuck around after he had gotten his warriors name. Most mentors would still remain companions with their past apprentices but Hawkdive and Sandhawk still talked and occasionally shared tongues with each other, remaining as close as they were in training.

"Emberstep and Dewshade just had a litter of kits, perhaps that's what's taking up more

of his time these days." Sandhawk suggested. Greyleaf nodded with him, eyes brightening as more pointless small talk began, giving them all something to think about besides dwindling prey amounts.

"Ah yes, I haven't found time to properly met them yet." Greyleaf began before Hawkdive marched away from where she was and began to order the two of them around.

"Greyleaf, Smokeclaw told me that nobody has hunted over by the Great Sycomore and

luckily no fish-pelts have gone over there either," Hawkdive said the Thunderclan deputy's name with as much disgust as fish-pelts. Sandhawk couldn't help but roll his eyes at the kit-like hatred Hawkdive possessed. "Sandhawk, come with me to Tallpines, maybe some squirrels are sheltering in the shade there."

Sandhawk nodded to Greyleaf before following his ex-mentor to the pines, slipping in between the loose undergrowth in hopes of catching some of the morning dew to cool his pelt. He figured this would be a relatively slow day seeing the sun had barely inched across the sky during the time he had been awake. That is, until the second they reached the quiet of the pines and Hawkdive turned on her paws, excitement sparkling in her eyes. The yellow cat was a bit surprised by the other warriors sudden excitement, seeing she had just gone on a rage about Windclan sticking their paws on Thunderclan land.

"Sandhawk, today's the day!" She excitedly said. Her voice, through masked with her

usual mono-tone had an underlining of excitement Sandhawk hardly heard. He pricked his ears in confusement, today hardly seem special. He racked his mind for possible solutions but all of them came up dry, nothing important was going on today as far as he knew. When he didn't answer right away Hawkdive didn't seem mad, instead of enjoying his moment in suspense.  
"Today's the day we finish off Smokeclaw." She said certainly. Sandhawk was so shocked at the exclamation that he took a step back as if he was buffered by a heavy wind. Kill the deputy? What for? Smokeclaw was a loyal cat who did no harm to anyone. Besides putting him on one to many dawn patrols and a few arguments about prey, Sandhawk had nothing against the senior warrior. Everything about the sentence, down to the wording itself, settled wrong with him.

"Excuse me, we?" Sandhawk asked. "I have no reason to expect that Smokeclaw has done a single thing unloyal to the clan, why would you want to kill him?"

Hawkdive sighed, taking the look she commonly did when he didn't understand something as an apprentice. That also sat wrong with Sandhawk and he felt the fur prickle on the back of his neck.

"Smokeclaw has done plenty of things to be unloyal." Hawkdive spat out the words like she always did when she talked about something she was passionate about. "First, he follows Snowstar's every decision. Don't you remember when he made you give that Windclan patrol the rabbit you caught on our territory?"

Sandhawk grumbled in agreement as the memory resurfaced in his mind. It may have crossed into their territory from Windclan but he still spent a good chase on it only to give it up. The Windclan cat's taunt gaze, as they took the rabbit from in front of Sandhawk's paws, caused the yellow tom to let the distaste of giving away fresh prey to go through him again. Hawkdive's chin raised higher in the air as she saw her past apprentice's agreement.

"They're making us weak Sandhawk, we need to stop it before we become kittypets for the other clans." She said. Hawkdive's voice changed from a certifiable tone to a spitting hiss as she went down the sentence. Sandhawk could practically feel being hit by the words as they left her mouth.

"And what happens after...after Smokeclaw dies?" Asked Sandhawk, still not swayed enough to say 'we' yet. "Who will take his place, you?" Hawkdive rolled her eyes at Sandhawk's remark, whiskers twitching irrationally. Sandhawk knew she expected this talk to go smoother then it was and she was getting anxious to move it along.

"It won't matter if I become deputy, all that matters is the clan isn't bowing down to outside forces," Hawkdive said quickly, dismissing the thought of deputy quickly. "Plenty of cats in Thunderclan can strengthen us but Smokeclaw isn't one of them. You want to make sure Thunderclan is strong and well protected, right?"

What an open-ended question that was. If Sandhawk told her he refused to kill his clan mate, then he would of been a traitor to the clan in her eyes. If he responded with yes, he breaks the warrior code by cutting short the life of a potential leadership. For all he knew, Smokeclaw was biding his time for Snowstar to lose his last life and then would return with what was once the golden age of Thunderclan. But, Smokeclaw could make Thunderclan weaker and thus lead them into a dark age of fighting for their own land. Of course he wanted Thunderclan to be the strongest and proudest clan it could be but killing off clanmates seemed unjust….but then again Smokeclaw's methods of letting other clans walk into their territory also seemed unjust.

All the buts and what ifs of the situation proved to Sandhawk that he truly didn't know what was going on in Thunderclan. He should understand his deputy and leader's vision for the good of the clan but the complicated matter of affairs made him feel as if he barely knew more than a kit. Hawkdive saw the confusement of her apprtience and swiftly used it to break his defenses.

"It's only one cat Sandhawk." She said easily, her voice dropping to terrifyingly soft levels. "How many cats would perish if we are forced to go to war against the other clans?" That point was a good one but it still broke the Warrior Code...then again, wasn't Smokeclaw breaking the Warrior Code by allowing other clans to hunt on their territory? Sandhawk didn't say anything as he turned his head away from the ground to look at his mentor. Something in his expression must have given her the idea that he was now on her side for her back straightened more than it already was a smug smirk spread across her muzzle.

"We'll share prey with Smokeclaw tonight only it'll be the last time he ever does." Hawkdive sounded cheerful as she explained the murder plot. It sent, even more, chills down Sandhawk's spine as he thought about how close he was with this cat. "You'll place deathberries into his prey and we'll be done with him once and for all."

Sandhawk felt himself nod which Hawkdive quickly returned with one back. She got to her paws, standing as tall as a tree. "Make sure you get a squirrel, I've never seen Smokeclaw give one of those up, not even to the elders."

More proof against Smokeclaw as Sandhawk numbly got to his paws. Hawkdive had planned this all from the moment they stepped paw out of camp, from the moment she woke him in the warrior's den. The heat now seemed like the last of his worries though he desperately wished it wouldn't be. Pine needles poked his pads as he walked through Tallpines but he could hardly think about it.

The idea of killing his deputy sickened Sandhawk but the actions that same deputy took did as well. Neither side had a fair or just argument, rooted more in a gut feeling then proof. Feelings had caused to much trouble for Sandhawk in the past and he had a distaste for relying on them in a time of crisis. The lives of too many cats then he cared for weighed heavily on his shoulders. He felt his belly fur brush the ground from the sagging weight of it despite him, not in a low crouch. In the end, it came down to who he felt deserved to live happily more, Smokeclaw or himself. No doubt in his mind that Hawkdive would refuse to respect him if he failed in this task. The thought of his mentor abandoning him just like his mother did moons ago gave him just a taste of what the unavoidable sadness would feel like. The emotional pain he felt from his mother leaving him still resonated hidden within him, covered by the comfort of knowing that Hawkdive wanted him.

Smokeclaw didn't give Sandhawk anything at all in his life. Besides a few head nods when they passed each other in camp and small talk on patrols, his relationship had been neutral with the tom for some time now. Could Sandhawk live without him? They would surely bring in more prey and have better borders, that could help the kits in the future...but what about Smokeclaw's kits? Sandhawk quickly recalled a memory of one of them playfully tugging on Smokeclaw's ear when he returned from patrol. Could he really let kits grow up without their father very much to how he did? But, they still had their mother and littermates while Sandhawk only had Hawkdive.

Every decision that Sandhawk settled on was swept away by either selfishness or selflessness, no inbetween. He felt terrible for thinking for himself but was able to justify it as well. The crossroads that laid before him made him want to turn tail and run down the way he came, it was safe there. There was no safe way here through, someone would have to pay for the injustice Hawkdive declared and it was up to Sandhawk to choose its victim. Sandhawk stumbled along the hunting trip, his head too full of thoughts to fully focus. Unluckily, he caught a squirrel, sunbathing in a small patch of sun. Looking down at its limp body he couldn't help but to feel bad for it. Death was supposed to be a relief, freedom from all the world's troubles but this squirrel's fate had just begun. Nearby, the dull chirping of starlings alerted Sandhawk. Starlings were Hawkdive's favorite, a rarity among Thunderclan. Sandhawk let himself smile as he thought about how Hawkdive had been overwhelmingly pleased that his first piece of prey was a starling and the pride that came when she was the one to take it off the fresh-kill pile.

For nostalgic sake, he went to catch one and began to drag his findings back to where Hawkdive had spoken to him before. Where she had been now laid three deathberries, harmlessly laying on the grass. Their red skin glowed ominously as if lit from within with Hawkdive's intentions. How easy it would be to step on them or pass them by. Something needed to be done with them and soon before Hawkdive would kill Smokeclaw herself. That possibility was what set in stone Sandhawk's future actions. Sandhawk laid down the prey, finally coming to a decision.

When he entered the camp, he had been grieving the entire way there. Not just for the cats who live would soon be cut but for himself. The old cat he once was was dissolving with each paw step into the wind as he walked closer and closer to his demise. Memories of the past drifted through his head, tightly knit to not allow any doubt in.

His first time out as an apprentice and Hawkdive almost had him fall through the ice over the river came as he walked through the camp entrance. The feeling of pride when he passed his warrior assessment, fulling up the fresh-kill pile and Smokeclaw's congratulations followed as he walked through the clearing. Hawkdive hissing furiously at Petalfall when she tried to approach her newly made warrior son after moons acting if he was nothing hurt him as he caught the eye of his past mentor. Smokeclaw confronting him about leading his first patrol came as he looked over to see who was sitting next to Hawkdive. His warrior ceremony when Hawkdive yowled out as loud as possible "now that's a name!" when he was named after her per his request.

"Sandhawk!" Hawkdive said easily, beckoning him over with her tail. She turned to Smokeclaw, fakely grinning at him. "See I told you he would bring a squirrel."

"I have to remember to trust him more, after all, he is your apprentice." Smokeclaw joked after nodding his thanks to Sandhawk. He was far too nervous about what was going to happen next to eat, watching both cats settle down.

"He's not so much of a waste of space, he even found be a starling," Hawkdive responded, winking at Sandhawk knowingly. The yellow tom forced a laugh before turning to Smokeclaw who took a big bite of the prey.

"I would like to report I didn't scent any Riverclan by Tallpines, they may have been able to hunt on their territory," Sandhawk said as easily as he could, the words catching in his throat. Hawkdive dug deep into her starling to avoid saying something as Smokeclaw drew away from his own. He began to speak but after a few minutes of discussing it, Smokeclaw stopped. His eyes became puzzled as he forced on something that Sandhawk couldn't see from where his eyes were facing. Sandhawk knew what he was doing and it took everything he could muster to say what he was about to.

"What...is….what's...wrong?" He stuttered, something he hadn't done since he was a young kit. Smokeclaw's brow furrowed before speaking himself and Sandhawk prepared himself for the response.

"You feeling alright Hawkdive?" Smokeclaw asked the warrior whom Sandhawk was turned away from. Sandhawk knew and feared this would happen as he slowly turned around to look at his mentor.

Her yellow eyes looked close to popping out of her head while her claws were unsheltered deep into the ground, so much so it looked painful. Her mouth was open in an unspoken yowl as her throat began to close up, cutting off her source of oxygen. Hawkdive's dilated pupils focused on Sandhawk and he saw everything she felt just then. The crippling pain, the bitter betrayal, the hurt of Sandhawk traitorous action. A clawed paw of hers reached out in an attempt to leave a wound on Sandhawk as millions of emotional ones, both old and new, opened. The sight of his mentor reaching out in pure anger and betrayal while her heart beat it's last had Sandhawk back where he first began only this time the roles were switched. He was the betrayer this time and he had done it to the one cat he respected the most.

Hawkdive fell limp on the ground, her yellow eyes now glazed over. Smokeclaw's yowls for help and the other cats worry and sadness flooded slightly around Sandhawk. He turned away from the brown tabby knowing no matter how much it hurt him, he had made the right choice. For the good of the clan as they would have their deputy still alive and powerful, for the good of Hawkdive as she would be able to go to Starclan seeing she did no wrong, and for the good of Smokeclaw for he would be able to watch his kits grow up on Earth. But not for the good of Sandhawk who laid crippled in the clearing of Thunderclan camp, begging forgiveness for a deed he didn't want to commit.


End file.
